The Ignatius Catholic Study Bible New Testament (303 page)

12:1 the moon:
Can symbolize both maternal dignity (Gen 37:9-10) and feminine beauty (Song 6:10).
twelve stars:
Represent both the twelve tribes of Israel (21:12) and the twelve apostles of Jesus (21:14). 
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12:2 pangs of birth:
This is probably related to the Passion of Jesus, which pierced the heart of his Mother (Lk 2:35) and seized his disciples with the distress of a woman in labor (Jn 16:20-22). 
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12:3 red dragon:
Represents Satan, the murderous arch enemy of God (Jn 8:44). His
horns
are symbols of his strength (Dan 7:7), and his
diadems
(crowns) are symbols of his ruling power over the fallen world (Jn 12:31). He is doomed to burn forever in the lake of fire (Rev 20:10). • The draconic serpent was a mythological symbol of evil in the ancient Near East. Called Leviathan (Is 27:1) or Rahab (Job 26:12-13), he was pictured as a sea monster with multiple heads (Ps 74:14). 
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12:4 a third of the stars:
A flashback to the fall of the angels at the dawn of creation (2 Pet 2:4). The imagery hints at how Satan led the rebellion, dragging a host of demons down with him (CCC 391-92). In the Bible, stars often represent angels (Rev 1:20; 9:1; Judg 5:20; Job 38:7). 
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12:5 male child:
His coming forth symbolizes both the birth and rebirth (Resurrection) of Jesus as the Davidic Messiah. • The
rod of iron
alludes to Ps 2:9, a coronation psalm that celebrates the enthronement and royal adoption (i.e., divine birth) of the Davidic kings of Israel. It is ultimately fulfilled in Christ, who rose to an immortal life of kingship (Acts 13:33) when he ascended into glory (Heb 1:5-8).
caught up to God:
Refers to the Ascension, which culminated with the heavenly enthronement of Christ next to the Father (3:21; Mk 16:19). 
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12:6 fled into the wilderness:
Many interpret this as the safe escape of Jewish Christians from Jerusalem when they fled to a place called Pella.
See note on Rev 11:2
. 
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12:7 Michael:
The heavenly warrior and archangel (Jude 9) who protects the People of God (Dan 12:1). Here he leads the heavenly army in the attack against Satan and his hoards. 
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12:9 that ancient serpent:
Satan, who took the form of a reptile when he instigated the fall of man in Gen 3:1-13. His name in Greek is the
Devil,
meaning "slanderer", and his name in Hebrew is
Satan,
meaning "adversary".
the deceiver:
Satan is the father of every lie and falsehood (Jn 8:44). 
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12:10 Now the salvation:
Heaven celebrates the expulsion of the devil and his angels. This is not the fall of the angels at the dawn of time (12:4), but the defeat of evil at the turning point of salvation history, when Christ mounted the Cross and cast out the ruler of this world (Jn 12:31-32; Col 2:15).
the kingdom:
See note on Rev 11:15-19
.
accuser of our brethren:
The devil is a prosecuting attorney who makes damning accusations against the saints (Job 1:6-11; Zech 3:1). 
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12:11 conquered
 . . .
unto death:
The martyrs appear defeated by death but are actually victorious. They, most of all, have shown the greater love (Jn 15:13) that makes them like Christ, even in his death (Phil 3:10). 
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12:13-17
Slammed down to earth, the devil storms off after the woman, but God protects her from his evil intentions. • The imagery recalls how Yahweh was said to have rescued Israel from Egypt on eagle's
wings
(12:14; Ex 19:4). Other allusions include the salvation of Noah's family from the
flood
(12:15; Gen 6-8) and the destruction of Korah and his rebel supporters when the earth
opened its mouth
to swallow them alive (12:16; Num 16:1-34). 
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12:17 the woman
 . . .
her offspring:
An allusion to Gen 3:15, which stands as a backdrop for the entire chapter. Here the woman's offspring is not only the Messiah (individual, 12:5), but also his disciples (collective, Rom 16:20).
See note on Rev 12:1-6
. 
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13:1-18
Chapter 13 introduces two agents of the dragon: one is a beast from the
sea
(13:1), and another is a beast from the
earth
(13:11). The sea beast is surely the Roman Empire, while the land beast seems to represent a corrupt religious authority.
See note on Rev 13:11
. 
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13:1-2 a beast rising out of the sea:
Several parallels indicate that the sea beast, as a demonic rival, mimics the Lamb.
(1)
The Lamb is worshiped by angels and saints (5:14), while the beast is worshiped by the wicked (13:4);
(2)
the Lamb was slain and rose again (5:6), while the beast was mortally wounded and recovered (13:3);
(3)
the Lamb sits on the throne of his Father (3:21), while the beast shares a throne with the dragon (13:2);
(4)
the Lamb redeems believers from every tribe and nation (5:9), while the beast has temporal authority over every tribe and nation (13:7);
(5)
the Lamb is worthy of power and glory from God (5:12), while the beast receives power and authority from the dragon (13:2);
(6)
the name of the Lamb is stamped on the foreheads of the saints (14:1), while the number of the beast is branded on brows of sinners (13:16-18). • The imagery comes from Dan 7:1-7, where the pagan empires that oppressed Israel in exilic and postexilic times appear as four beasts rising up out of the sea— a lion, a bear, a leopard, and a creature with ten horns. Their animal features are here combined into an image of imperial Rome, who embodies the power and ferocity of them all. 
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13:3 One of its heads:
The seven heads of the beast represent seven Roman kings, according to 17:9-10.
mortal wound . . . healed:
The wounded head is probably Caesar Nero, who committed suicide in June
A.D.
68. He was the last of Julius Caesar's dynastic line, and his death threw Rome into political chaos and civil war. Though many thought the Empire had ended with the demise of Nero, a new claimant gained control of the throne (Galba), and the Empire lived on. Others read this as an allusion to the Nero
redivivus
legend, an ancient belief the Nero would someday return and reclaim his authority as Roman dictator. See notes on Rev 13:18 and 17:10. 
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13:5 forty-two months:
A time of limited but intense tribulation.
See note on Rev 11:2
. 
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13:6 his dwelling:
The heavenly sanctuary inhabited by the saints (7:15). 
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13:7 war on the saints:
Believers become martyrs when they refuse to worship the beast and its image (13:15; 20:4). According to some, this alludes to the Neronian persecution of the Church in the mid 60s; for others, the Domitian persecution of the late first century is in view (CCC 2113). • The passage recalls the violence of the fourth beast in Dan 7:21. 
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13:8 the book of life:
A heavenly registry of the saints.
See note on Rev 20:12
. 
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13:10 If any one:
An allusion to Jer 15:2 and 43:11, where Jeremiah learns that tragedy was certain to befall the sinners of Judah and Jerusalem, for Yahweh had decreed their captivity and death. In this context, the oracle is an exhortation to endurance, either assuring believers that God will bring judgment on their persecutors or calling them to remain faithful in spite of imprisonment (captivity) and martyrdom (sword).
slays with the sword:
Another manuscript reading has this in the passive voice: "is to be slain with the sword". 
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